By Emma Berry
The roar of Tuesday's action at Tattersalls had become a whimper by Thursday but that didn't stop the Tattersalls December Sale breaking yet another record as 105,255,000gns changed hands over a fortnight at Park Paddocks for yearlings, foals, fillies and mares. That tally ensured that turnover for the whole year in Newmarket rose to 331 million gns from last year's high mark of 265 million gns.
“The 2017 Tattersalls December Sale will live long in the memories of the huge number of people who have all contributed to another outstanding sale here at Park Paddocks,” said Chairman Edmond Mahony as Tattersalls went into hibernation until the February Sale.
“The cumulative total December Sale turnover of more than 105 million guineas is a new record for this historic sale and brings an extraordinary year at Tattersalls to a fitting conclusion. The demand for quality bloodstock at Tattersalls has been unprecedented throughout 2017. Every single Tattersalls sale this year has achieved record figures and last year's best ever annual turnover of 265 million guineas has soared to a truly remarkable 331 million guineas.”
He reflected, “Individual highlights have come thick and fast throughout our Autumn sales season. The 4 million gns October Book 1 sale-topper was the highest price for a yearling in the world this year and was followed by record top prices at Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale and the Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale. Nothing, however, compares with the pure theatre of the Tuesday evening session of this week's December Mares Sale. All of us lucky enough to have witnessed and participated in such a spectacular sale will have memories to treasure. Each of the 11 fillies and mares who sold for 1 million guineas or more was exceptional, but the new European record of 6 million gns for the dual Group 1 winning filly Marsha was genuinely unforgettable and a wonderful reward for the Elite Racing Club, her trainer Sir Mark Prescott and all associated with such a special race filly.
“Equally memorable was the final episode in the history of the Weinstock family's legendary Ballymacoll Stud, appropriately played out in front of a packed sale ring. We have been immensely proud to have conducted the dispersal on behalf of the trustees of Ballymacoll Stud. In its rich 58 year history Ballymacoll Stud has achieved greatness and the success of the dispersal was a magnificent tribute to an impeccably run and uniquely successful breeding operation.”
Mahony concluded, “Wider tribute should also be paid to each and every vendor and purchaser, all of whom have made important contributions. We recognise that not every sector of the industry is flourishing, but we continue to explore as many overseas markets as possible and we are enormously grateful to everyone who has helped to make the 2017 December Mares' Sale a record-breaking renewal. We knew that we had a catalogue of real depth and quality, but we could still not have predicted the extraordinary global demand that has been the feature of the week. The Tattersalls December Sale has long been regarded as uniquely international and buyers from every continent in the world have yet again shown that the finest European bloodstock continues to be held in the very highest esteem.”
A 32% rise in aggregate for the the December Sale as a whole came at an average price of 68,303gns (+34%) and median of 25,000gns (+14%) for 1,541 horses of varying ages sold at a clearance rate of 78%.
For these last four days of fillies and broodmares, 675 lots were sold, just six fewer than in 2016, and by the time all 857 offered had passed through the ring, the aggregate weighed in at 68,315,300gns (+53%). The average was also vastly improved at 101,208gns (+54%) but the median figure dropped by 7% to 25,000gns and the clearance rate was 79%.
Despite the glowing figures of earlier in the week, it was hard work for vendors at Tattersalls on Thursday with a dearth of buyers left on the sales grounds.
The session was led by the very last lot through the ring, 2433, the winning 4-year-old filly Angelical (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), bought by Bill Dwan for an undisclosed client at 35,000gns.
“She is for a friend who was looking for a well-bred filly. He went home and left me in charge,” said Dwan.
An average of 5,294gns (-9%) and a static median of 3,000gns, with 656,400gns in total being added to the coffers for 124, or 73%, of the lots on Thursday's list, illustrates the lack of demand for horses at this lower end of the market. It is a tale that is repeated at sales across the board and the disparity between sessions should serve as a warning to breeders ahead of finalising mating plans for 2018.
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